Why job location still matters for talent attraction, growth amid remote work surge

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Jobs abroad or in Africa? Why focus on work in other countries shouldn’t replace opportunities at home

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6 days agoRead nextOpens a fresh page.

As remote work gives employees greater freedom over where they live, companies and cities that understand this shift could gain an edge in the race for talent, WEF says.

War for talent is forcing companies to rethink what attracts and retains workers globally, with the location of a job emerging as an increasingly important factor even as remote and hybrid working expand.
According to a new analysis by chief economists at the World Economic Forum (WEF), companies can no longer rely solely on salaries, benefits, workplace culture and management to compete for skilled workers.
The cities where employees live and work are becoming a crucial part of the talent equation.

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The report, drawing insights from nearly 17,000 professionals across more than 80 cities on five continents, finds that the quality of workers’ everyday experience in a city can significantly influence job satisfaction and retention.
WEF describes this advantage as the “experience dividend”, the benefit companies gain by locating in cities where workers can enjoy a richer and less stressful daily life.
The analysis challenges the assumption that cities with the largest concentration of restaurants, cultural institutions, entertainment venues and other amenities automatically provide the best environment for workers.

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Instead, what matters is how easily residents can actually experience those amenities.
Congestion, high living costs, long distances and daily stress can undermine the value of having numerous attractions nearby. As a result, cities with fewer amenities can outperform established global centres if residents feel that their quality of life is improving.
The difference can be substantial. In cities where residents are satisfied with the experiential quality of daily life, 78 per cent of workers say they like their jobs, compared with just 48 per cent in cities where residents are dissatisfied, a 30 percentage-point gap.
“Where workers live, and how they experience daily life there matters as much as what they do,” the WEF analysis says.
The report also finds that the experience of a city ranks alongside economic opportunity as one of the strongest factors influencing job satisfaction, ahead of considerations such as housing, healthcare, transportation and safety.
The effect is particularly pronounced among younger workers, who are increasingly important in the talent competition.
The study reveals that workers under 25 in high-experience cities are 20 percentage points more likely to plan to stay where they are than those in low-experience cities. The gap narrows to six percentage points among workers in their late 50s.
The location effect also cuts across income levels and industries, challenging the idea that higher salaries can fully compensate for an unattractive urban environment.
Even in information technology, one of the sectors most suited to remote work, job satisfaction differs by 20 percentage points between high- and low-experience cities.
For businesses, the findings suggest that location decisions need to move beyond costs, logistics and tax incentives to consider where employees will want to build their lives.
For cities, investment in public spaces, culture, leisure, walkability and the broader quality of everyday life could become an economic strategy rather than simply a lifestyle choice.
As remote work gives employees greater freedom over where they live, companies and cities that understand this shift could gain an edge in the race for talent, WEF says.

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